Seiyo Day Care
by ThePraetorLady
Summary: Set fifteen years in the future. Yuu and Yukari Nikaidou need jobs and find themselves employed by Seiyo Day Care. Humor and craziness ensues. Gotta love kids. Yuu/Yukari. Other pairings are super-top-secret -snort-


**A/N: **Seriously, Yuu/Yukari (Yukaidou) is probably the least appreciated couple in SC. And where the heck did they go for most of SC Doki? What's up with that? -.-" Sorry in advance for the names being in English order instead of Japanese. For this story, it just works better that way. Sorry sorry sorry. I like to think keeping honorifics makes up for it a bit. Maybe. _ And I won't tell you the pairings just to be a pain, but they're pretty obvious... Anyways, onward! *cheesy V-sign*

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Shugo Chara or its characters, which is probably for the best. T_T I also don't own Disney's Beauty and the Beast, which I reference, if you recognize it. I do own the million loose-leaf papers I used to write my first draft. xP

**SCHOOLSOUTFORTHESUMMER~!W00T~!**

"No. Absolutely not. I hate kids." Red curls bounced as Yukari Nikaidou shook her head furiously.

"You'll be fine," her husband Yuu pleaded. "You worked with Utau-chan, and that was all right!"

"That was fifteen years ago," Yukari whined. "And besides, she was a teenager – not a roomful of five-year-old children!"

"They won't all be five years old," he pointed out.

"That's not the point!" she shrieked.

Yuu sighed. "Look, I already asked your brother Kairi to help, so it won't be just us. They really need workers, and if you haven't noticed, neither of us have jobs." Though they still lived near Seiyo Elementary, Yuu had recently been taken off the payroll, and Yukari hadn't found another job since Utau had moved to America a few months prior.

Eventually reason forced Yukari's hand, and she grudgingly agreed. The next Monday they woke up early and headed over to their new employer, Seiyo Day Care. The manager, Hatsu Shin, knew they both had (some semblance of) childcare experience, so she explained the basics of the establishment and then left them to prepare for the day.

Children began arriving at 8:30, but because Hatsu kept them in the indoor play area for a while, the Nikaidous didn't actually see any of them until 9:00. Hatsu brought the kids into the room, handed their new caretakers an attendance sheet, and left. Eight children crowded around them, eager to meet these newcomers. Yuu hastily handed the list of names to his wife, who glanced it over and took charge.

"Pay attention!" Yukari declared, her glasses gleaming as Yuu sweatdropped. "I'm going to call your names. Say 'here' if you're here." Giggles murmured through the group. "Mara Kotobuki."

"Here!" trilled an eager blonde girl, her flouncy red dress swirling as she twirled in circles. Now it was Yukari who sweatdropped.

"Retsu Nova." No response. She marked him absent and continued down the list. "Suguri Fuji – Fujisaki?" She blinked and showed the paper to Yuu for verification.

He shrugged. "Coincidence?"

Yukari raised an eyebrow and repeated, "Suguri Fujisaki?"

A quiet "Here" came from the mouth of a short girl with wavy purple hair, which reached nearly to her waist. Long lashes shaded golden-brown eyes. Yukari had to excuse herself from squinting and get back to her list.

"Taru Yugi," she announced. Again, no response. She called another few names, all of absentees, when the creaking of the door stole the attentions of everyone present. The green-haired head of a twenty-six-year-old man poked in, soon followed by the rest of him. Flushing slightly to see that he was the center of attention, he adjusted his glasses and closed the door behind him.

"I apologize for my lateness, nee-san," he said, bowing slightly.

Yukari began to sparkle and she bawled anime-style. "Kairi~~~!" Yuu had the attendance paper shoved into his hands as Yukari ran over to glomp her younger brother, whom she hadn't seen in ages. "How's college?" she glimmered.

"Honor roll," Kairi said stiffly, an unspoken "obviously" hanging on the end. He was working on his master's degree in secondary education, and it kept him very busy. (Luckily his sister had Yuu to help her out domestically, or there'd be problems.)

"So you're here to help us?" Yukari confirmed. Kairi nodded. "Great. We're just getting started." She reclaimed the paper, adjusted her glasses, and called out the next name. "Nari Ts— Ts— no way." She looked around. "Nari-chan?"

An older girl, probably six years old, with pink hair and dark-blue eyes raised her hand. "Here."

Yukari blinked at her and with a strained voice asked, "Nari-chan, what's your last name?"

Nari smiled innocently. "Tsukiyomi," she pronounced perfectly.

Yukari and Yuu exchanged glances, and Kairi studied the young girl intently. "There's no way," Yukari muttered, "no freakin' way."

"Nee-san, watch your language around the children," Kairi admonished as he raised his head. "May we continue?"

"Of course." Yukari cleared her throat but hadn't managed to call another name when playful shrieks broke the quiet.

"P'actice, Li-nii-chan! You need to p'actice!" squealed a green-eyed girl with short chestnut hair as she sent a small soccer ball flying towards her playmate, a boy with messy brown hair and the same green eyes. He dodged just in time, the toy into Suguri Fujisaki's head instead. She began to tear up and attempted to throw it back to the two aggressors, accidentally hitting Mara Kotobuki with it. The brown-haired boy ran for the ball, but Yuu plucked it up before he could lay hands on it.

"When we finish taking attendance, then you can play," he said calmly. The boy and girl whined but rejoined the group. "Jin Alba." A jovial-looking boy indicated his presence. "Kame Ran." His equally flippant friend poke out. "Arina Souma."

"Me! I'm here!" shrieked the female of the hyperactive pair.

Yuu sighed, motioned for her to quiet down, and continued. "Li Souma."

"Here!" yelled the boy, grinning.

"We're twins," Arina pointed out helpfully.

"For the love of peace," Yukari groaned under her breath.

Yuu chuckled and called the last name. "Suke Yora?" A red-haired girl raised one hand, the other hand clutching a small doll. "All right." Yuu folded the attendance paper and set it on a high shelf. "Now what do you all want to do?" Of course, that received a cacophony of answers.

"Snacks!" Li yelled.

"Play outside!" Arina shrieked.

"Tell jokes," Suguri called.

"Play dolls," Suke and Mara chorused.

Yuu walked over to a window and opened it to feel the air. Turning back to the children, he said, "It's still a little cold out, so we'll go out later. For now, let's do art. To the painting tables!" His enthusiasm was catching, and the kids ran over eagerly to the long table Kairi had been setting up with paper and paints. Yuu and Yukari walked around, tying little smocks on each of their charges. Then the finger-painting fun began.

"Yeah~!" cried Jin, his gleeful expression mirrored by Kame's as they made wild swirls and spots on their papers. On Jin's other side, Mara made dainty pictures, anxious about dirtying her dress.

"I'm drawing a soccer ball!" exclaimed Arina from the other side, earning an unimpressed look from Suguri, who was painting quietly beside her.

"I'm doing an oven!" cried Li, determined to one-up his sister. "It's got a cake in it!"

"My soccer ball is better than your oven!"

"Is not!"

"Is _too_!" And Arina punctuated her point by pressing a blue-paint handprint onto his face. Yukari moved him into Nari's seat on the opposite end before things could get out of hand.

"Aww," Li complained, confusing the Nikaidous.

"We were just playing," insisted Arina. Nari confirmed it, apparently accustomed to their style of "playing."

"Please, just paint," Yuu said, giving up.

**TIMELAPSETIMELAPSE**

An hour later, Yuu and Yukari began clean-up. "Leave your painting on the table to dry," instructed the redhead as her husband collected paint-covered smocks.

"Guess what this is?" exclaimed Li. Yuu came over good-naturedly for a look.

"Um . . . an oven?" he guessed, smiling.

"Yeah!" the boy cried, pumping a fist in the air. The other artists caught this exchange, and of course they wanted to explain their masterpieces too. The clamoring drove Yukari crazy.

"Okay!" she called, quieting the children. "If you stand quietly by your paper, we'll come around and look." They scrambled into place, and the Nikaidous began their round, starting with Suguri, who just stood there and stared at them.

"Who did you paint?" prompted Yuu finally.

"Suguri Watase-sama and Masun Ki-sama." Suguri pointed to each figure as she named it. "Watase-sama is a dancer – I'm named after her – and Ki-sama is my favorite comedian."

"Very nice, Suguri-chan," Yuu complimented her, feeling slightly suspicious as he moved on to Arina, who was not so quiet about her artwork.

"This is me shooting a soccer ball into a flaming net~!" she yelled, eyes gleaming maniacally. The adults exchanged a nervous look.

"Very nice, Arina-chan," they chorused, eager to move on.

"Chii! Arina-chii!" she corrected loudly at their backs.

Nari's painting was neater than the others they'd seen so far, mostly just because she had a year's advantage. "It's my cat," she declared before they could ask.

"What's his name?"

"Neko-kun," she said happily. "I named him."

"Very nice, Nari-chan," Yukari said, and they continued to Suke (her picture was of her doll) and then quickly to Kame, Jin, ad Mara, because the warm sun streaming through the windows was making them antsy.

Finally Yuu called for their attention. "Want to go outside now?" The children sprinted from the table to the back doors, pulling and pushing each other gleefully. Leaving Kairi to clean up the painting mess, he opened the door and they ran outside, shrieking in the pleasant weather. Yukari and Yuu took seats on a bench as they watched them play. In a conspiratorial tone, he asked his wife, "Have you noticed anything odd about some of these kids?"

"Yes," Yukari whispered back. "They have short attention spans! Like _goldfish_!"

Yuu facepalmed. "No," he said patiently. "I mean, do any of them seem _familiar_ to you?"

Understanding dawned on her face, and she nodded. "In fact—" she started, but was interrupted by the bawling of a child. Both adults hurried to the scene of distress, where Suke stood sobbing, with Nari and Jin in front of her arguing.

"Suke-chan! What happened?" Yuu asked worriedly.

"Jin-kun – " (she hiccupped) " – Jin-kun took my doll~~!" Her crying resumed. The Nikaidous turned their attention to Nari and Jin, who they now realized were arguing about the doll he was holding.

"Give it back to Suke-chan!" Nari yelled.

"No!" Jin shouted back. "It's mine now!" He stuck his tongue out.

"It is not!" Nari lunged for it and missed by a hair. Jin moved to pull her bubble-gum pink hair. Yukari's glasses gleamed and a dark aura began to seep out of her. The fighting children paused in fear.

"Jin Alba-kun!" she bellowed. "Give me Suke-chan's doll!" The boy hesitated, then meekly handed it over. Yukari's creepiness calmed down as she gave the doll back to Suke, whose crying was reduced to sniffles as she clung to her rescued toy.

Yuu patted Nari's head as she simmered down. "Next time, tell a teacher instead of getting into a fight," he reprimanded her. She nodded obediently, and, deciding to let her off with a warning, he took Jin inside.

Kairi was putting away the last of the paints when they entered. He inclined his head respectfully. "Yuu-onee-sama," he articulated, obviously having trouble combining respect for his former teacher with familiarity for his (granted, older) brother-in-law.

The older man smiled pleasantly. "Jin-kun started some trouble outside, so as punishment he will stay in here for five minutes. Watch him, please?"

Kairi nodded shortly. "Hai." Yuu went back outside, and Jin was left under Kairi's eye. "Come help me wash the tables, Jin-kun."

Meanwhile, outside, things had calmed back down. Yuu joined Yukari in crouching to hear Suguri as she told a joke to her audience (them, Nari, and Suke). After she was done, they went over to supervise Arina, Li, and Kame, who were kicking around Arina's soccer ball and yelling like maniacs.

"Here, here, Kame-kun!" called Li, waving wildly. Kame sent the toy flying towards the chestnut-haired boy, who met it easily and began to juggle it on his knees, making his sister impatient.

"Pass it to me, baka Li-nii-san!" she hollered. A tick mark appeared on his forehead at the insult, and he kicked the ball straight at her. It hit its mark, and she began to wail. Yukari rushed forward and tried to calm Arina down as Yuu attempted to get some sense out of Li, who had also begun to bawl. The adults exchanged looks and, coming to the same conclusion, turned back to the twins with a new idea.

"Ne, Li-kun," Yuu said pleasantly, "will you help me make lunch? I think you would be good at that." Li's crying ceased as he eagerly considered it.

A few feet away, Yukari was trying to distract his female counterpart. "Arina-chii," she addressed her, remembering the girl's preferred honorific, "will you show me a special soccer move?"

Arina stopped crying as she focused on the sport she loved. "Do you play soccer?" she asked. Yukari replied that she didn't. "I'm sorry," Arina said sincerely. "Here, I'll show you something my daddy's teaching me." Standing up and placing the soccer ball at her feet, she exhaled shortly. Then with a kick, she had the ball in the air over Yukari's head. The woman could barely keep her eyes on the small figure that looped around her once to meet the ball with her knee, then again to run it near her brother, where she bounced it up again and head butted it so that it landed neatly in Yukari's arms. Arina and Li grinned in sync; Yuu and Yukari twitched in amazement and exchanged the Look.

"Sugoi~. Can I try?" Kame peeked out from behind Yukari, who shrieked in surprise.

Arina jogged over and reclaimed the ball from Yukari. "Hai, Kame-kun," she smiled, her earlier distress totally forgotten. Opposite them Yuu and Li headed inside for the promised lunch-making. Yukari could see the other four girls huddled by the wall of the building, and (possibly against her better judgment) she left Arina and Kame to go check on them.

As she neared, she could see that Mara, Nari, and Suke were all watching Suguri, who had a scary, deadpan expression on her face, which was highlighted by the spooky way she was shining a flashlight under it. Yukari strained to hear what the violet-haired girl was saying.

" . . . And then . . . one winter's night . . . an old beggar woman came to the castle," Suguri was narrating in her Dark and Scary Voice. Suke and Mara looked captivated (if slightly freaked), but Nari's soul was floating away. Yukari, being the teacher, felt it was probably her responsibility to do something, so she stuck Nari's spirit back in before it could get lost. She sat down to listen, and Jin, who had been allowed outside again, also joined them.

" . . . the prince tried to apologize, but it was too late . . . so she placed a horrible curse upon the castle, and all who lived there . . ." Suguri had upgraded to her Dark, Scary, and Violent Voice. Her classmates were wide-eyed.

"I hate scary stories," moaned Nari. Suguri gave an innocent ^_^ look, but Yukari recognized the evil behind it. Luckily for Nari, Yuu chose that time to call everyone in for lunch. The children jumped up and ran for the door eagerly. Yukari walked behind them, making shepherding motions with her hands. Yuu smiled in amusement when he saw that, making her blush.

"Nikaidou-sensei!" called Li. Both adults looked at him. "Can I pass out the food?" Yuu nodded, and the boy happily jumped into action. The Nikaidous went around and made sure everyone was sitting (somewhat) quietly as they waited. Li was quick at his job, probably because he was hungry too. The children quieted as they munched on their lunches – classic PB&J sandwiches cut neatly into little triangle.

"It was Li-kun's idea," Yuu admitted to his wife. "He's quite the little chef."

"You're too easily impressed," countered Yukari.

He shrugged, smiling. "Although maybe his idea of candy on the side wasn't the healthiest."

The first child to finish was Mara. "That was good," she said, looking pleased.

Li grinned. "Thanks."

Nari looked up, licking the last bit of peanut butter off her fingers. "Can we have taiyaki with lunch tomorrow?" she asked, which of course interested the others.

"Yeah, taiyaki!" Jin cheered.

"No, parfaits," Suguri opined softly.

"Cake!" sparkled Arina, and it continues from there, the suggested snacks getting increasingly complicated. The Nikaidous sweatdropped in unison.

"We'll see," Yuu said nervously when they all directed their cutest expressions at him. Arina and Li high-fived. "Finish your food."

"We finished it!" chorused the little group.

"Oh." Yuu glanced around for something else to occupy them. His eyes landed on Kairi. "Sanjo-sensei will read you a story now!" he declared triumphantly. Kairi twitched as the eight children rushed from the table towards him, expecting a story. With a sigh, he picked out a book from the bookshelf beside him and sat down to entertain them.

**TIMELAPSETIMELAPSE**

By the time five o'clock rolled around, the adults were the ones ready for naptime. The children had had theirs around three, but they had been just as energetic as ever afterwards. Yukari's glasses were askew , Yuu's hair was even messier than usual, and Kairi just looked exhausted. Luckily for them, parents would be arriving soon.

Suke's parents, the Yoras, were the first to come. They picked up her painting, thanked the new teachers for watching their daughter, then left. On their way out, they passed another set of parents, this one significantly louder and more casual. The moment they stepped into the room, the three adults exchanged the Look that had become familiar throughout the day. Kairi voiced their thoughts.

"Kukai-kun?"

A surprised look crossed the other man's face before he grinned. "Yo, Kairi! What's up?"

"I'm finishing my master's degree. How are you, Kukai-kun?"

The woman at Kukai's side butted in then, smiling brightly. "Yaya too! Konnichiwa, Kairi!" Kairi twitched at the continual lack of honorifics as he greeted still-hyper twenty-six-year-old Yaya.

"Mommy~! Daddy~!" Arina and Li had been kicking their soccer ball back and forth, but now they had caught sight of their parents. Arina jumped into her father's arms and Li into his mother's, which the Nikaidous thought fitting.

"What did you do today?" Kukai asked his daughter.

"I showed Nikaidou-sensei my new soccer trick! And taught it to Kame-kun." She pointed out the other boy, but the man holding her had been distracted by the first name.

"Nikaidou-sensei?" A grin broke out on his face again as he recognized his old teacher. Yuu smiled but gestured to Yukari. Kukai blinked; Yukari showed him her left hand, on which glinted a ring. He gave them a thumbs-up. "Congrats."

"Yay!" Yaya exclaimed, having caught the exchange.

Li was uninterested in it, though. "Mommy, do you have any candy?" Yaya promised him to give him some when they got home and "hinted" to her husband that they needed to go. After exchanging good-byes with their old friends, the Souma family left.

Yuu sweatdropped. "That was an experience." That had definitely explained the twins' preferences and personalities, and if they were right about the others . . .

"It's time for another one," Kairi said flatly. The Nikaidous followed his gaze to the hall, where another familiar pair was arriving.

"I'm tired. Carry me." A woman's voice, quiet but commanding.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

There was a laugh. "You're carrying Takano-chan. Don't be silly." Then the door opened, a tall man with long violet hair holding it open for the petite woman with him. Her curly blonde hair swirled as she walked in. Once she was through, he followed her inside and closed the door. This time the workers were more sure of the couple's identity.

"Nagihiko-kun?" Both parents towards the voice; the Nikaidous could see now that the woman was holding a little blonde baby, probably less than a year old.

The Fujisakis caught on faster than the Soumas had. "Kairi-kun," greeted the woman. "Nikaidou-sensei. Sanjo-san – ah, Nikaidou-san." Nagihiko gave his ^_^ look.

"Mashiro-san," replied Yuu with his typical pleasantness. She blushed.

"_Fujisaki_-san," Rima corrected. Her husband took her hand with obvious pleasure.

"Mama!" Suguri's little voice jumped an octave as she ran to hug her mother. Peeking up, she gave a smile. "Takano-chan!" Rima bent a little so her younger daughter could see her older one. After kissing the baby, Suguri reached out for her father, who picked her up easily.

"Was she good for you?" he asked her teachers, who responded positively.

"She told Nari-chan a scary story, though," Yukari said. Suguri mirrored her father's ^_^ look, the combined evil of which frightened even the Nikaidous.

"Konnichiwa, Nari-chan," Nagihiko greeted the pink-haired girl after the evil was over. She waved back happily, obviously familiar with them.

"Can Nari-chan come over?" asked Suguri sweetly. Her parents shared a look before replying with a definite maybe.

"Her parents aren't here, and we have to talk to them first," Rima told her in an identically sweet voice.

A new voice interrupted. "Whose parents?"

"Dad!" Nari bolted to the door, tugging on the arm of the blue-haired man who had just joined the group. A pink-haired, red-faced woman stumbled in behind him with a three-year-old boy in tow.

"Amu-chan!" Nagihiko greeted happily. Rima shifted Takano so she could hug her old friend. Ikuto greeted the Fujisakis with a simple "Hey."

Impatient with adult conversation, Suguri upped her Cuteness to get her father's attention. "Daddy," she said softly, positively sparkling, "Nari-chan's parents are here. Can you ask them now? Pretty please?" Nagihiko sweatdropped, suddenly at a loss. Rima gave her daughter an approving smile; the Nikaidous sweatdropped too when they realized where Suguri had learned that particular trick. (During this time Mara's mother, Kame's parents, and Jin's father came to pick up their children, leaving only the ex-Guardians and their children with Kairi and the Nikaidous.)

"Suguri-chan and Nari-chan want to have a sleepover sometime," Nagihiko relayed to the Tsukiyomi parents once he had regained his voice. "Would that be all right?"

"Ooh! Sounds fun!" The group turned towards the door, where Yaya was poking her head in. Kukai and the twins were with her. "Sorry, Arina-chii and Li-kun forgot their pictures. Hey, we should all do that! Have dinner or a cookout or something!" (A voice from behind sounding suspiciously like Li's asked eagerly, "Food?")

"That sounds good," Nagihiko agreed, looking to his wife for her agreement. She nodded agreeably.

Amu looked delighted. "That would be fun!" She elbowed Ikuto when he didn't say anything.

"Ow. Yeah, fun." He rubbed his side, looking less than enthusiastic, as usual. She frowned at him but gave up trying to elicit emotion.

"You guys could come too," Yaya offered, gesturing to Kairi, Yuu, and Yukari. "There's definitely enough space, and food. It'll be fun!" They gave vaguely optimistic promises. Cell numbers were exchanged among those who were unconnected, and calendars were looked over. The couples would probably have stayed there longer, but the children began to whine for food, so they dispersed, with promises to follow up on their plans.

**TIMELAPSETIMELAPSE**

Yuu and Yukari collapsed into bed at home that night, tired beyond reason.

"Why did I listen to you~?" Yukari whined.

"Paycheck . . ." Yuu mumbled, half-asleep already. His wife joined him in long-awaited slumber, grumbling about children all the way.

**FIN?**

**A/N: **All right, I made a promise to myself (and to some reviewers who guilt-tripped me) that I would get caught back up on my fanfics once school was out. Well, school's been out a week, and here's this. Merry Easter. ^_^ I'm thinking about continuing this, hence the ? after the "fin" above. I usually don't like stories set in the future with (ugh) OC's because there's not usually much basis in the canon for what's written (plus I just don't like OC's). However, I've become fond of these characters, and I would like to know your opinions. R&R~! ^_^


End file.
